Another One Bites The Dust
by LifeAsMe
Summary: K-Unit think that they are on just another mission, but when their mission turns into a rescue, things will start to change. When Wolf and Alex are down for the count, how will the team cope? They should know by now, there is always trouble in the world of Alex Rider.
1. Chapter 1

K-Unit had been previously ordered to recover a captured agent and neutralize the pending threat, no matter what the cost. Usually commanded by the SAS, these orders had come directly from Blunt himself, the head of MI6. So that's how Ben Daniels, codename Fox, found himself and his unit, now entering a seemingly abandoned warehouse, just outside of London. Their backup, G-Unit, was waiting just beyond the surrounding trees.

As they closed in on the entrance Eagle pulled out a decoder, courtesy of Smithers, and attached it to the electronic keypad that allowed access to the building. Within the minute, K-Unit was inside and tensely searching for the mystery agent.

Wolf led his pack, gun cocked and ready to fire at any opposing threat. The hallways running through the warehouse were not the straight, reliable paths they had been led to believe. In fact they were the complete opposite: twisting in random directions and nearly impossible to navigate as an outsider. As soon as the team leader realized they were in no immediate danger, he lowered his weapon and turned to address his comrades.

"We need to split up," Wolf growled. Snake quickly shook his head in response.

"No, it's too risky. Wherever the agent is, he's not alone. We need to be ready to face whatever they have in store for us."

"Snake, I don't think you understand. We need to find the agent and blow the place; that's the most efficient way of completing our mission. End of story."

"I agree with Snake," Eagle added unhelpfully.

"This isn't a democracy, Eagle," Wolf grunted, but his teammates' opinions influenced his decisions more than they knew. "Fox, you and Eagle will go down to the basement and Snake and I will keep searching. Contact us if you find anything. Remember rendezvous here in an hour if you come up with a blank."

"See you soon," Fox replied seriously, "and hopefully we will have an agent with us too."

Eagle and Fox silently made their way down the stairs, stopping at erratic intervals to listen for a hint as to where they should go. They made it down the stairs and into the first adjoining hallway before they heard footsteps behind the nearest door.

Quickly, they hurried around the corner and stationed themselves to fire. As two guards entered the hallway, Fox and Eagle took aim, and had soon neutralized the oncoming threat. Eagle quickly radioed Wolf to let him know the action was underground.

"Psssssshhht. Wolf, are you there?"

"Eagle, you do realize you don't have to make that sound when you talk with a walkie-talkie right?" Wolf's voice said through the static.

"Yes! But at least I try to spice things up! I like to keep it interesting," Eagle reasoned.

"Does this conversation have a point or-"

"Oh yeah. We think we've found the agent. We are going in, but if you could come down as backup, that'd be great."

"Okay we are on our way down," Wolf answered quickly.

As Eagle put away the communication device, Fox was already preparing to kick down the door. Hurriedly Eagle scrambled over to where Ben was and pulled out his gun, ready to take down anyone who got in his way. Fox mentally prepared himself and kicked the door forward. It broke easily, the lock staying connected to the frame, but the rest of the wood splintered and flew inward.

Incredibly fast, three guns were pointed in half of K-Unit's direction, but before they could shoot, the team had taken out two of them with tranquilizer darts as the third aimed for Fox's head, but was taken down by Snake who had just appeared behind them.

What Fox had not realized before was that the three guards had all been huddled around a small, lone figure lying on a metal table in the back of the room. Snake and Eagle looked at each other, confusion evident on their faces, but Fox rushed to the table.

"Alex!" Fox said urgently under his breath. The eyes of Alex Rider stay closed as Fox reached out and felt for a pulse.

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	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! Thanks so much for the response I got for the first chapter! I decided to go ahead and post this because all of the reviews I have gotten have been so kind. Don't be afraid to give me some criticism though! It truly helps a lot. Okay so seeing as this is my first story, I have already forgotten some key things I should tell you about this! 1. The rating is T for some minor swearing and 2. This story starts out a bit dark and depressing, but trust me, it will get a lighter mood as soon as the plot advances.**

**If you read all of that Congrats(: I hope you like it! And onto the chapter...**

**Disclaimer: Everything you recognise belongs to Mr. Anthony Horowitz, what a lovely man.**

Chapter 2

As Fox reached down, he felt the soft, but erratic, pulse of Alex Rider.

"Thank God," Fox whispered to himself. This time, a little louder, "Alex, can you hear me?"

Alex's eyes fluttered before just barely opening a crack. Even that was wide enough for Ben to tell the young spy was in pain. His eyes were unfocused and brimming to the edge with unshed tears.

"Ben?" he softly croaked.

"Yeah, Alex, it's me," Ben replied gently. "Are you all right?"

Even in his dazed, pain-induced state, Alex could manage a slight glare at that. A glare that even made Fox the SAS recruit and Ben the spy tremble.

"Sorry, mate," he apologized immediately. "What happened, can you move?" he added, noticed Alex was laying very awkwardly for being just awoken. As he said it, Snake, the unit medic, came over, sensing his cue, while Eagle decided to stake out and watch the door. Wolf was nowhere to be found.

"Ben-"Alex started, his eyes starting to flutter yet again after a moment of deep concentration.

"Yeah?"

"I can't-"He coughed, "I can't move."

At this Snake took action. He started analyzing and checking every inch of Alex he could, trying to diagnose the problem. The medic found many injuries, one of which a very painful looking broken hand, but none that were likely to permit complete loss of motion for the boy. How Fox knew this child, Snake had no idea.

Continuing to examine Alex, Snake suddenly commanded, "Fox, keep him talking, I don't want him to go into shock."

"Oh okay," he replied. "So, Alex, how's school going?"

"Haven't been to school," he answered between labored breaths.

"Oh um well what have you been up to then?" Ben asked, drawing a blank. He had a very good idea what the injured spy had been doing during the last couple of weeks.

"B-b-ben," Alex said, ignoring the question.

"Yeah, Alex?"

"Ben!" Alex said, this time more forceful.

"Alex, I'm here! Do you need something?" he asked worriedly. This was really starting to freak him out. Why weren't they leaving already? Where were the ambulances and backup they had called in for? Where the hell was Wolf?

"Ben, there's a," more labored breathing filled the silence. Until Alex finally managed out the last word, "bomb."

"Fox, Eagle, he's going into shock!" Snake shouted. "We need to get him out of here like, now!"

"Shit," Ben said, looking under the table Alex was on and clearly seeing the black explosives strapped firmly to the metal. "Okay Eagle, this tech stuff, it's your thing, can you disable this bomb?"

Rushing over, Eagle replied, "Yeah, I think so, but it's going to take me a few minutes," setting to work immediately.

"Sadly, we don't have a few minutes," Snake said, annoyed. He knew it wasn't Eagle's fault, but somehow, he blamed him for not being able to just stop the bomb with a glance.

"Yeah, Alex needs medical attention and fast. You guys stop this goddamn bomb and I'll try to get him some help!" Ben yelled as he picked up Alex and sprinted out of the door. Trying to find his way through the maze that was this building, he started to hear the roaring of gunfire. Hopefully it wasn't coming from the way they were headed because bullet wound was not something he wanted to add to the young spy's list of injuries. As he neared the exit, Ben realized that the gunfire was coming outside, but from the ricocheting sounds of the bullets, they were being fired into the metal side of the complex. Taking an important look at angles, Fox thought it pretty unlikely for his 'passenger' or himself to be caught by a stray bullet. Also, they would be hard to spot before they hit the forest in the waning light.

Taking a leap of faith, Ben sprinted out of the warehouse and made a beeline to the place he knew would have medical help and people capable of handling a bomb: the forest, of course.

LIFEASME-ANOTHERONEBITESTHEDUST

Meanwhile, from the opposite side of the warehouse, Snake and Eagle still struggled to deactivate the explosives. In fact, what they were doing, normally a fail proof way of stopping an explosive device seemed to be speeding up the numbers ticking down to the time of detonation.

When the small, electronic clock read 00:02:00 and dropping, Eagle decided he didn't have so much as a clue to what else could be used to stop it.

"Let's go."

"Eagle-"

"Snake! This thing is gonna blow either with us standing next to it, or with us 20 miles away sipping lemonade! I'd rather not become a pile of mush, but it's your choice," Eagle fumed.

"Mush?" Snake questioned jokingly, but seeing the expression on Eagle's face immediately sobered him. "Okay yeah let's get out of here. I'll contact the troops and let them know to evacuate."

With that the two unsuccessful K-Unit members high tailed it out of there and towards the military-issue jeep that their team had parked less than an hour ago. Hoping Fox, Wolf, and the mysterious boy were out of danger by now, Eagle and Snake pulled into drive and headed towards the most likely, unofficial rendezvous point: St. Dominic's Hospital.

LIFEASME-ANOTHERONEBITESTHEDUST

As soon as Ben came in contact with the cover of the trees, he was surrounded by the pacing figures of G-Unit. Cobra, their unit medic, took Alex out of Ben's arms and slowly set him on the prepped stretcher. However, instead of loading him into an official ambulance, the sandy haired boy was strapped into a military vehicle.

"What the hell is this?" Ben asked in awe. "We were granted an intense medical team to standby for the agent. Where the hell is it?" Even as he said it though, he quickly climbed in after Alex, not wanting to get separated from the boy, even as Cobra and another, more official looking doctor, started their work on him.

"Calm down Fox," Raccoon growled, placing a firm hand on Ben's shoulder. "The assistance was here, but when Wolf went down-"

"What happened to Wolf?" Fox asked shocked that his fierce unit leader could be… No, better not to think like that he decided. Their vehicle took off, probably being controlled by the remaining members of G-Unit.

"For the last time, relax, he's not going to die or anything," Fox internally let a sigh of relief escape him, "but he's pretty messed up. Took a bullet to the hip and another to the shin while trying to stop the rest of whoever captured the kid's backup. He sure as hell won't be back at Beacons for a while. Actually, I'm not sure if he will ever be able to return to active duty. I imagine he'll be pissed of course."

"Shit," Ben answered to himself. "So that's why our backup never got called in," he muttered, pondering what would happen to his unit now. Sadly, his thoughts were interrupted by a fuzzy message being sent through his- and everyone else's- radio:

"This is Eagle of K-Unit, 061435. We are alerting all members of rescue mission 942 that there is a bomb set to detonate in less than one minute. Please evacuate now, note that our mission has been completed."

Suddenly, everyone was thrown backwards by the sudden increase in speed of their vehicle. Alex seemed to be holding on, but Fox just hoped Cub, Wolf, and the rest of his unit wouldn't be damaged beyond repair. For once, they were all back together, and so far, that was not a good sign.

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	3. Chapter 3

**Hey Everybody!(: I am excited to say Chapter 3 is ready to post! Sadly, I had a less impressive response to last chapter. :( I'm not sure if you guys didn't like it or what! So please let me know! Okay so this chapter starts a bit grim, but with a very lighthearted ending. I apologize in advance because there isn't much Alex in this! So without further ado... le Chapter(:**

**Disclaimer: Everything you recognize belongs to Mr. Anthony Horowitz, what a lovely man.**

**Ah, yes sorry one more thing is all I promise! Vincent Rodriguez is the name I have chosen for my Wolf!**

Chapter 3

Thankfully, Fox thought back, they had started driving when they did. Now safely in the hospital waiting room along with Eagle and Snake, Ben had enough time to process what had actually happened. They had seen the blast, not a mile away, but none of K-Unit had been close enough to the explosion to be impacted by it in the slightest. As soon as G-Unit and Fox had reached St. Dominic's, he had run ahead to alert the doctors of what was going on. Met with looks of horror, he had finally looked down to see himself drenched in what had to be Alex's blood.

Now all that was left to do was wait. Snake, being the highest in rank under Wolf, had been trusted to know that both Wolf and Alex were alive, but both undergoing surgery.

"You guys remember Cub?" Fox asked suddenly.

"Yeah, what 'bout him?" Eagle questioned lazily.

"That was him."

"Wait, hold on just one second-"Snake started

"Oh my God! That's the kid?" Eagle cut in

"How did we not realize?" Snake intercepted, annoyed with Eagle's impatience.

"I don't know, I mean I know it's been a couple years, but I assumed you would notice." Fox answered politely.

"Well what the hell was he doing in that place?! Talk about bad timing, Jesus!" Eagle chided.

"Eagle. You are an idiot. He was obviously captured," Snake realized, expressing that at least one member in this unit was intelligent. "I just wonder why-?" he cut off, sending a look to Fox.

"Well I can't really say, but as his unit, I think you probably are permitted to know that he was recruited by MI6," Fox stated grimly.

"No way," Eagle said, "I refuse to believe it."

"Why would I make this up?"

"You have a sick mind Ben, I wouldn't put it past you," Eagle pointed out, seriously. And so the banter continued and as it did so it grew in intensity until only Snake noticed the surgeon moving towards them. Before the other two could take notice, he promptly stood and approached the doctor apprehensively.

"Are you a relative of Vincent Rodriguez?" he asked in a serious tone.

"No, but I am his house-mate and his comrade in the force. I am also about as high of military clearance you will probably ever hear of," Snake shared, exaggerating a bit, but knowing that the surgeon would tell him what he wanted to know.

"Hello I am Dr. Miller. Okay, well your," he nervously glanced up, "comrade, is stable and will hopefully will make a full recovery; in time, that is. But sadly, there will be a long road to recovery."

"I understand," Snake answered seriously.

"We found a bullet lodged in his shin and another near the pelvis, both of which on his left side. The shin didn't give us too much trouble, it was a simple procedure to remove the bullet, and it should only take a few weeks for his leg to heal.

"Unfortunately, the pelvis is another story. The bullet, upon entrance, took up enough speed to impact the bone quite harshly, resulting in a fractured pelvis."

"Oh lord," Snake sighed, rubbing his face. Even with his limited medical background, he knew where this was headed.

"Your friend will be in extreme pain in the weeks to come, and his mobility will be very limited if he is to heal correctly. With the angle of the fracture, I'd estimate he will be in need of a wheelchair for around the next two weeks, then after that can be put onto crutches. After his recovery, Vincent will still probably require the use of a cane for quite some time. It's hard to say how fast he will heal but he will be in need of assistance. Is there any family I can talk to about his options on living accommodations?"

"No, his only family, his mother, lives in Spain, and they haven't been in touch for years. I guess that means I'm the lucky volunteer. My friends, "Snake motioned towards the now silent Eagle and Fox, "and I will make sure he follows your instructions."

"Great, I will meet with you later for further information then, Mr.?"

"Olson." He replied

"Also I believe the boy, Alex, is here with you too?" the doctor questioned again.

"Yes, well, in a way."

"Okay just making sure, he is still in surgery, but we will notify you if anything changes. Ah and Mr. Olson? Vincent should be waking up soon if you'd like to pay him a visit." And with that Dr. Miller headed back in the same direction he emerged from in the first place.

Making his way back over to the fear filled eyes of Eagle and Fox, Snake sat down with a low whistle. Why were they looking at him like that? God, they are so weird sometimes, Snake thought.

"Is he going to be okay?" Ben asked attentively.

"Wolf just had to go and break his goddamned pelvis! Dear God, how are we supposed to help Wolf? He has to be the hardest person to please I've ever met!" Snake fumed.

A sly chuckle slowly filled the invading silence. "Wolf broke his ass! Ha whatta loser," Eagle sang.

"Eagle, your pelvis isn't your ass," Fox snapped, looking annoyed with the lack of consideration being shown by his teammate. "Having a fractured pelvis is probably one of the most painful injuries out there." That sobered Eagle up.

"Is- is he going to be okay?"

"Well the doc said he will be in loads of pain and won't be able to walk on his own for a while. Even when he gets out of the wheelchair, he'll have to use crutches or a cane." Snake summed up.

"Shit," Eagle and Fox chorused together, now realizing the extent of their leader's injuries.

"Oh yeah! Ben, Alex is still in surgery but they'll keep us informed. And yippee for us, now we should probably go visit ole Wolfie," Snake added.

As three of K-Unit's still standing members made their way into the elevator, they prepared themselves for what they were about to see. Wolf was so strong and indestructible, how were they supposed to handle seeing him broken? But no amount of preparation could have prepared them from what they saw as they stepped into the room, labeled Vincent Rodriguez:

Vince was lying in a hospital bed, not one of those all propped up and fluffy with pillows, but one that was completely flat. It was not the severe and rigid position of Wolf's body that made them uncomfortable, though. It was the broad grin and slightly unfocused eyes that were plastered on their leader's face. He was laughing uncontrollably, and worse, he had noticed the visitors waiting just inside the door.

"Heeeeeey guyyss," he slurred, "my friends are here to see me. Yay! Why are you guys in my man cave?" he asked, suddenly looking pissed. "This is for me and my ladies. Sasha!" he screamed. Quickly the nurse rushed in, an attractive blonde, but suddenly she blushed, realizing what had happened. He was obviously doped up on painkillers.

"Yes Mr. Rodriguez? Did you need something?"

"That was your booty call Sasha," he replied hysterically. "And remember, call me Vinny."

That was all it took for K-Unit to let loose their laughter, Wolf joining in. Maybe they were going to be all right after all.

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**Did you hate this? Let me know why! I'm craving feedback! This story will remain to suck if you don't give me your opinion!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys! I'm so so sooo sorry it took so long for the update! Thanks to all those who reviewed! I love you all so much for just reading my story, but to review means so much! Per request there is Alex in this chapter :) Also a bit of swearing! Sorry, Wolf likes to curse in my world.**

**Disclaimer: Anything you recognize belongs to Mr. Anthony Horowitz, what a lovely man.**

Chapter 4

Alex awoke to the annoying sound of a beeping and whirring that could only be the product of hospital machines. He opened his eyes slowly, quickly blinking back the blurriness caused by the harsh light intruding through the open windows. Against his body's protesting, Alex slowly tried to sit up, but only made it about halfway before the pain became too much and forced him to lie back down.

He now noticed the awkward placement of the many tubes and wires connected to his body. He recognized the IV for painkillers and quickly decided he was grateful, just this once, to be left, not quite pain-free, but only feeling the numbing ache of his injuries and not the usual sharp agony. Reaching up, Alex slowly touched his face with his right hand and was surprised to see it encased in a heavy cast that covered each of his fingers. Now, with his left hand, he slowly pulled out the breathing tubes through out of his throat. Coughing slightly, Alex started to assess the rest of the damage to his aching body, when a tired looking Ben walked in.

"Alex! You're awake," Ben exclaimed, eyes bright.

"No, you don't say?" Alex replied with a smile before the both broke out in laughter. "It's good to see you too, Ben."

"How are you feeling?" Ben asked, now serious.

"To be honest, I'm not feeling much of anything. I'm not used to the painkillers, I guess," Alex replied.

"Yeah that's kind of to be expected though, isn't it? MI6 doesn't usually permit the strong stuff, not for us anyway.

"That was my next question, why am I getting special treatment? What happened, Ben?" Alex questioned. Right as the words left his mouth, a middle aged man wearing blue scrubs walked in.

"That's my cue," Ben said as he slowly made his way to the door. "I'll be right outside, the guys are here too, they'll want to say hi, I'm sure," he added as he exited the room.

"Hello, Alex, I'm Dr. Miller. I'll be your physician for the rest of your stay here at St. Dominic's," the man in the scrubs started.

"Hi, um how long exactly will that be?" Alex cut in.

"Well, though your injuries were quite severe, you will make a full recovery in about four weeks. Also, you are free to check out in 48 hours, if everything goes to plan."

"Great," Alex sarcastically muttered. Louder, "Uh what exactly do I have to stay here for?" He asked, already hating the prospect of another two days stuck in this hospital.

"Well, as I said before, your injuries were quite severe. Especially in the instance that they went untreated for so long. You have a broken hand, along with three broken fingers, several lacerations across your back, severe bruising of the abdomen, and two fractured vertebrae." The doctor concluded dully.

"Okay, thanks, but while I was, well, anyway," Alex stuttered, now panicking._ How could I forget!_ He thought. "Before I got here, I couldn't move. Am I… am I… do I…" He stumbled out worriedly.

"Oh of course. No you will not be paralyzed. The spinal injuries were putting pressure on some very important nerves and that is what had rendered you unable to move. Now that the pressure has been removed, that should no longer be a problem," the doctor said, relieving Alex's stress.

The relief was evident on the teen's face.

"But," Dr. Miller cut in again," that does not mean it will not be a hard recovery. You will be confined to bed rest for the first week and after that, if your back isn't giving you any difficulty, no physical exertion for the next three weeks. We will slowly start working you back into your usual activities when we see you are ready."

"Okay, but I have one more question for you, Doctor," Alex asked in his most grim tone, "do you have anything to eat around here?" he finished lamely.

"I'm sure your friends can help you out with that one," he answered with a wink and promptly left the room.

LIFEASME-ANOTHERONEBITESTHEDUST

"This is a load of shit," Wolf growled angrily. "I'm fine!"

"Vince, for the last time, just get in the fucking chair," Snake argued impatiently.

"I said I'm fine. I can feel absolutely nothing wrong with myself, therefore I'm _FINE,"_ Wolf retaliated, refusing Snake's commands.

"That's only because you're loaded up on painkillers!" Snake said, forcing himself not to yell, "I'm sure tomorrow you will regret even having this conversation."

"That's it. Where's Eagle! I know he will agree with me," Wolf said sourly.

"Okay, now I know you're delirious. Fox, will you please help me get him in this thing," Snake asked, directing his gaze across Wolf's hospital room to a sitting Ben, who could barely suppress his laughter.

Quickly getting up, Fox and Snake helped Vince into a sitting position and took almost the full of his weight, helping him limp to the wheelchair sitting by the doorway.

"There, happy?" Wolf wined.

"Yes, I am," Snake answered contently, "but now you've got me thinking, where is Eagle?"

"He's in talking with Alex. I think he's telling him about living arrangements and stuff," Ben answered.

"Goddamn. The kid is living with us?" Wolf shrieked. "Why the hell would you bastards agree to that? You can't even take care of a cat! You're going to kill the poor little guy!" Wolf babbled, he eyes filling with tears.

"You know, I don't know what is crueler: taking you off of painkillers, or making us listen to you on painkillers," Ben retorted.

"Anyway, we are leaving in an hour, Wolf, you and I need to fill out some paperwork, Ben, why don't you go find Eagle?" Snake asked.

LIFEASME-ANOTHERONEBITESTHEDUST

Standing outside Alex's room, Ben knocked, and then let himself in. Alex was propped up in bed, reading what seemed to be a history textbook.

"I thought you didn't go to school?" Ben asked wryly, startling the previously concentrated boy.

"I don't," he stated nonchalantly. Upon seeing Ben's questioning gaze at the book he quickly explained, "Just because I'm not in school doesn't mean I'm stupid."

"Alex, you are probably the smartest sixteen-year old I've ever met," Ben complimented sincerely.

"You forgot sexy," Alex said with a seductive wink.

"Oh lord, not this again-"

"Hey, why aren't we just staying at your house like last time?" Cub asked, suddenly remembering an old train of thought.

"Well, we were going to, but Eagle, Snake and I thought it'd be easier to take care of you and Wolf under one rooftop. They don't think they can handle it without me," Fox said in mock arrogance.

"Wolf?"

"What about Wolf?"

"What's wrong with him?"

"Eagle didn't tell you? Shit, he had one job! Where is he anyway? God, he is such an idiot, he was supposed to find us an hour ago, but no!" Fox raged.

"He said something about a hot nurse, oh, and pudding," Alex started, "but what's wrong with Wolf?"

"Oh, well on our rescue he got pretty beat up. He'll just need some recovery time is all," Ben said, trying not to alarm Alex. "And you know how hard it is to satisfy Wolf."

Alex's eyes suddenly squinted in humor and slowly his hand came up, motioning for Ben to come closer, when he was close enough, Alex yelled, "That's what she said," before they both broke out in laughter yet again that day.

"Well ain't that the truth," Ben said, running a hand through his hair. "Okay well I better get going. I'm supposed to find Eagle and who in hell knows where he'll be. Are you okay here by yourself?"

"Who do you think you're talking to, Ben? Of course I'll be fine," Alex replied with a smile.

"Okay," Ben chuckled, "I'll stop by tomorrow. Just call if you need anything."

"Will do."

And with a last fleeting glance, Ben was on his way from an independent, teenage spy, to a high, injured, soldier. Sometimes he just had to ask himself, _Why?_

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End file.
